Soaking rains arrive in Kansas City; thunderstorms, strong winds possible
Rain showers rolled into Kansas City on Thursday morning, setting the stage for heavy rainfall and a chance of strong storms as the workweek wraps up, the National Weather Service said.
The rain is expected to blanket the region on Thursday morning and continue through much of the day.
As the rain moves in, there may be a few rumbles of thunder, but the weather service said the main focus will be on steady, efficient rainfall, which is unusual for January.
Forecast models predict a 50% to 80% chance that more than an inch of rain will fall across a wide area stretching from east-central Kansas through the Kansas City metro and up into northeast Missouri.
Expect to get a good soaking rain.
“By the afternoon, drier conditions will work in, but so too will some chances for a few afternoon to early evening thunderstorms, including the chance for a couple to be on the stronger side,” the weather service said.
As the main area of rain moves out, a combination of warm, moist air near the ground and strong winds higher up could create the right conditions for a few smaller, rotating storms known as low-topped supercells, according to the weather service.
These storms are expected to be fast-moving, “screaming” northeast at speeds greater than 50 mph, the weather service said.
“Cannot explicitly rule out hail or an odd tornado with any organized storms, but again, straight line winds would be the primary concern,” the weather service said in its forecast discussion.
The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center has placed much of Missouri, including the Kansas City metro, under a marginal risk of severe weather.
“Keep an eye on weather conditions through the day as this potential threat continues to evolve,” the weather service said.
The showers and storms are expected to move out of the area Thursday evening, providing about a 24-hour break before the next chance of precipitation arrives Friday evening into Saturday morning, which could include light snow, according to the weather service.
Precipitation chances for this round range from 25% to 50%. Cooling temperatures on Friday night will allow rain to change over to wintry mixes and snow.
“Greatest chances for accumulating snowfall remain just north and west of the Kansas City Metro area,” the weather service said.
Snowfall is most likely to fall in a narrow band, with up to an inch possible in northwest Missouri. The chance of meaningful accumulation drops farther south and east in the Kansas City area. The metro area has about a 15% chance of receiving at least an inch of snow from Friday evening through Sunday, according to the weather service.
The unseasonably warm weather is expected to come to an end. Temperatures are forecast to be in the low 60s on Thursday, the mid-40s on Friday, around 40 on Saturday and the mid-30s on Sunday, which should be the coldest day of the forecast, according to the weather service.
Typically, the metro’s temperatures are around 38 degrees this time of year. Temperatures will quickly rebound into the 40s and 50s early next week.
